Drunken 21st
by HydeLuver
Summary: As the gang goes out to celebrate Tori's 21st birthday, a bit of drama ensues. -Edited


**Author's Note: **This is my second Victorious story and I hope you all enjoy it. Since I am new to the fandom, I welcome any criticism that will help my stories. Also, I want to share that I'm working on a multi-chapter story that I am **very **excited to share with you all. I'm hoping to put it up before the end of next month completely finished so look out for it.

**Disclaimer**: I do **not** own Victorious or any of the character's on the show.

It is just after 10pm when the gang arrive at Avalon Hollywood to celebrate Tori's 21st birthday. All, with the exception of Cat, who is still not old enough to get in, enter the club ready to have a great time. As soon as they step inside, Tori is excited by the atmosphere. Everywhere she turns, people are having a carefree time. The music in the club is catchy and makes her want to instantly hit the dance floor.

The group of five push through the big crowd to make their way towards a table they have reserved for the occasion. While making their way there, they walk past numerous people who appear to have reached their alcohol limit. _This, _thinks Tori, _is going to be a great night. _

Once they reach their table towards the back of the club, the group orders a few starting drinks. Unsure of what to get, Tori asks Andre to order for her as she continues checking the place out. On the stage, a band is playing a song she has not heard before and can't help sway back and forth to. The lead singer is a cute boy, perhaps a few years older than her, and his voice is infectious. The slight rasp it has adds power to the song and she can't take her eyes off him.

"They're good" says Andre to her.

"What?" she replies, practically yelling in order for him to hear. Laughing, he leans in and whispers it in her ear. She nods and they both turn their attention back to the band. Seeing them performing reminds Tori of the times in high school when she would sing Andre's songs in front of the school. It's been almost two years since she's had the opportunity to perform in front of anyone besides him. Since deciding to focus on her acting, she put music second. Now, watching this band, she realizes how much she misses getting up there and entertaining others.

Within a few minutes, their drinks come. Tori leans into Andre to ask him what he ordered her.

"It's an amaretto sour. Didn't want to start you off with anything too strong. I figured you might want to have some fun before we get you extremely drunk" he says winking and raising his drink to her. She laughs and nods her head. She grabs her drink from the table, toasts him in return and takes a sip of her first legal drink. She feels the sweet liquid making its way down her throat and nods her head excitedly at Andre. "So good!" she says. He shoots her a smile and the two continue drinking and enjoying the atmosphere.

Across from them, Jade and Beck are trying to speak to each other over the music. It quickly becomes obvious that the music is much too loud and they will have to whisper to each other all night. Robbie, who is sitting next to Jade, is looking on at the people on the dance floor and instantly starts missing Cat. They have been dating for a little over six months and he couldn't be happier. He knows she would have enjoyed this place and makes a mental note to bring her after her 21st birthday.

As the night rolls along, the group continues ordering drinks and jamming to the music. The band has announces that they will now be performing their last song. The crowd responds with a series of boos in an attempt to have them play more songs. As the singer apologizes and says that they enjoyed their set, Tori decides that she has to speak to him.

"I'll be right back" she tells Andre. He nods to her and watches as she jumps out of the booth and begins fighting her way through the crowd.

"Hey, where is she going?" asks Beck.

"Why do you care?" says Jade, clearly annoyed that her boyfriend is curious about the whereabouts of Tori. Even after all the years since their high school graduation, Jade has her reservations regarding Beck's relationship with Tori. While he constantly reassures her that Tori is a friend, and has been since he met her five years prior, Jade can't help but feel as if that's not the case. Throughout those years, she has witnessed various moments of intimacy between the two which make her think that Beck has some feelings for Tori.

"I just don't want us to get separated in here. This place is a little crazy" he responds simply. He takes a swig of his drink, a rum and coke. He knows Jade is already irritated at the noise and people in this place and does not want to add fuel to the fire by starting an argument about Tori, especially not on her birthday. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Jade glaring at him but doesn't look at her.

"She went to talk to the singer" informs Andre. He has his eye on a girl standing over by the bar and lets his friends know that he will be right back. As he walks away, Robbie starts feeling uncomfortable being alone with Beck and Jade. He already sees a bit of hostility building up between them and he knows he has to get out of there until either Tori or Andre come back.

"I'll be right back too, I'm going to check the place out a bit."

Beck raises his drink to Robbie in acknowledgment and sets it down once his friend walks away. He looks over at Jade who is on her third drink of the night. "Having fun?" he asks her, hoping he can lighten the mood between them.

"Do I _look_ like I'm having fun?" she says sarcastically.

"I don't know, it's hard to tell since you pretty much always look the same" he replies half jokingly. As soon as the words escape his mouth, he knows it was not the right thing to say.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asks firmly.

"Nothing, I'm just kidding."

She rolls her eyes and moves a little further from her boyfriend. This night is already turning into crap for her. Not that she wanted to come out in the first place. It's not like Tori is her favorite person in the world so it seemed silly to come celebrate her birthday. Beck, however had insisted on going and she had to agree by default because there was no way in hell she was going to let him come alone and hang out with Tori while she was home waiting for him.

She spies a waiter a few inches from their table. She extends her arm to get his attention and raises her glass to inform him to bring her another drink. He nods towards her and walks over to the bar to place the order. Beck, concerned with the speed in which she's downing her drinks, asks her to slow down.

"Jesus, it's just a drink Beck relax" she says annoyed.

"It's just we've only been here an hour and a half and you're going on your fourth drink. Maybe you should take it easy before I have to carry you out of here."

"Yeah, that would be such a burden wouldn't it?" she responds harshly. Beck, now getting annoyed himself, runs his fingers through his hair aggressively and tells her that is not what he meant.

"Whatever, I'm going to dance. Wait for my drink to come" she tells him and before he can protest, she is off. Beck rolls his eyes in frustration. Leave it to Jade to already ruin a night out. They barely go out together anymore, and it's even more rare for them to spend time with their friends. This is one of the only times he could get her to agree to come out and less than two hours in, they are already disagreeing. Perhaps it would have been better to stay in and not have to deal with it.

As he starts looking around the club, he notices Andre talking to the girl over by the bar. Both are laughing at something he told her. Beck sees Andre's arm around her shoulders as he leans into her ear to whisper something, which again she laughs at. Beck can't help but smile at how smooth his best friend is. It's one of Andre's most admirable qualities. He goes after what he wants and isn't afraid to put himself out there. These same qualities are the reason why Beck became Andre's friend in the first place. They are qualities he wishes he had himself, but unlike Andre, he couldn't help but fear any rejection that might come with the territory.

He remembers the one time he decided to just go for it. It was right after Tori had been fired from the Platinum Awards and his friends had gone to see Jade rehearse. He had stayed behind to keep Tori company and make her feel better. While they both sat there talking, he forced himself to make a move and finally show her he was interested. Once he did so, however, she turned him down and from then on he knew it would be best to only take a risk when the results are guaranteed to go in his favor.

The band has now finished playing their last song and the crowd erupts into loud applause and cheers. The DJ quickly takes over the set as the band is putting their instruments away. Tori is just a few feet from the stage and has to push her way through a group of girls also trying to talk to the guys. After a brief struggle, she manages to get onto the stage and waits for the singer to walk over to talk to him. Within a few minutes, the band is walking off the stage and she goes over to the singer.

"Hey, you guys were great" she starts. Her tone is a little more excited than she would have hoped so she tries to calm down and not seem as impressed. _Act cool Vega _she says to herself.

"Thanks, I'm glad you liked it" replies the singer. He seems ready to start heading off again so she quickly stops him.

"I'm Tori" she tells him extending her arm to him. He puts the case he is holding down and reaches out to shake her hand. "Jay" he replies. She smiles at him and tells him she used to perform and that his singing inspires her to perhaps start doing it again. He nods his head, "hey how about we go over to the bar and talk there, sounds good?" he asks. She nods and follows him backstage.

Back at the table, Robbie has rejoined Beck. "Hey, where did Jade go?" Robbie asks.

Without speaking, Beck motions over by the sea of people. He is sipping his drink away, determined to not let Jade ruin his night. Robbie quickly spots Andre over by the bar. He looks after him as he continues putting the moves on the girl.

"Check out Andre. Man, he is smooth" says Robbie, almost to himself. Beck glances over at his friend again and simply nods his head. He looks down at his watch and sees that it's only a few minutes til one and he hasn't seen Tori in almost an hour. Suddenly, he sees her at a table near the stage with the band's singer. They are both drinking and look very engaged in their conversation. It seems as though everyone is having a good time but him. Pissed that his girlfriend has managed to bring down his mood, Beck tells Robbie he's going to the bar to get a drink.

"Do you want one?" he asks. Robbie shakes his head no. Beck quickly makes his way over to the bar and after about a minute orders an Irish car bomb and a shot of Tequila. The bartender shoots him a doubtful look to which Beck just nods. He knows he is asking for trouble by ordering these drinks but what the hell, his night is already going downhill. He might as well go all out and make some fun for himself.

About forty minutes later, Beck makes his way to the table trying his best not to stumble over anything or anyone. Once he gets there, he sees Robbie and Tori chatting it up. He looks over to the bar where he last saw Andre and sees that he is still there talking to the same girl. He tries to scan the room to see if he can spot Jade but the lights and noise quickly make his head spin and he needs to sit down. Making it the few feet to the booth, he practically falls into it forcing Tori and Robbie to look at him with concern.

Lazily, he gives them a thumbs up to let them know he is fine and notices Tori smiling sympathetically at him.

"Have you guys seen Jade?" he asks loudly. His words are almost slurred so his two friends, unsure of what he said, lean across the table and ask him to repeat himself.

"Jade, have you seen her?" he asks again, louder than the first time.

Robbie shakes his head from side to side.

"I saw her dancing by the stage with this guy," starts Tori, "but don't worry, he wasn't cute so you should be okay" she says jokingly.

He nods and starts scanning the room again. Robbie continues his conversation with Tori and she is now half-listening to him. She keeps looking over at Beck to make sure he is alright.

After another twenty minutes, Robbie informs Tori that he is going to get going. "I told Cat I would go over if I don't get out of here too late. I figured I can make it there before two." Tori smiles and nods at her friend and he gets up to leave. Robbie hunches over the table to kiss her cheek.

"Thank you for coming" she tells him sincerely.

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world" he replies. "Beck, I'll see you later buddy" he continues, shooting his drunk friend a worried look. Beck raises his hand in a salute and motions good bye. Robbie gives Tori a disconcerting look. "I'll make sure he's fine until Jade gets back and takes him home" she informs him hoping to lessen his worry.

"Okay, good" says Robbie. He waves to her again and makes his way to the bar to say good bye to Andre before leaving.

Tori stares at Beck slumping over on the chair. He is moving his head from side to side with his eyes closed. In her years of knowing him, she has never seen this side of him. She has seen him drunk once before but never to this degree. It is scary to see her friends this out of it and it saddens her that she can't fully enjoy her birthday because she knows he isn't doing well. Nonetheless, she figures she should still try and help him out.

"So...how are things going?" she starts off. Looking at him across the table, she figures it's best if she moves closer to him so they are not yelling at each other. She slides over and sits next to him and repeats herself. He simply shrugs his shoulders and continues swaying his head.

She smirks because even in his inhibited state, he manages to keep up his cool facade. Deciding to play along, she comments on how good the music is and he stops moving his head long enough to agree with her.

"What happened to the singer guy?" he asks nonchalantly.

"Well, it turns out that the cute singer has a _boyfriend _but would be more than happy to have a 'jamming sesh'" she says and laughs.

He laughs along with her, getting an unexpected sense of relief. "Nice" he simply says.

"Isn't it?"

"Happy birthday to you" he continues jokingly. She takes a drink from the table and pretends to toast to herself and her awful luck.

Once their laughter subsides, Beck goes back to his initial swaying, eyes-closed state. At this point, Tori is close enough to him that she can hear him humming a tune that seems familiar, but she can't quite recall where she has heard it.

"Hey Beck?" she says.

"Huh?" he reacts by opening his eyes and looking at her.

"What is that you're humming?" she asks, still trying to figure it out herself.

He smirks at her and is slightly surprised she doesn't recognize the song. "I would think you would recognize a song you sang" he says. He leans closer and hums it again so she can hear it. Even after he does this, Tori can not remember the song. She shakes her head in disappointment. Beck smiles at her and starts singing softly in her ear:

_So tell me that you love me yeah  
And tell me that I take your breath away  
And maybe if you take one more than I would know for sure  
There's nothing left to say  
Tell me that you love me anyway  
So Tell me that you love me anyway..._

She smiles from ear to ear as memories of the song flood her mind. The words take her back to when she sang this song with Andre so many years ago. She remembers how amazing she felt once they were done with it.

As Beck continues to sing to her, she is the one that starts swaying her head to the rhythm. The warmth of his breath on her sends shivers down her spine and makes her laugh at the same time. It's almost the same exhilarating feeling she used to get when she sang.

_Show me look what we found turn it around every day  
I can hear what you say  
now I know why know we can make it  
If tell me that you love me yeah  
And tell me that I take your breath away  
And maybe if you take one more..._

For a split second, Beck stops singing to her and whispers gently "happy birthday Tori" before singing the last chorus:

_So tell me that you love me yeah  
And tell me that I take your breath away  
Maybe if you take one more than I would know for sure  
There's nothing left to say..._

When he is finished, she throws her arms around him and hugs him as tight as she can. He laughs and hugs her back. "You have to sing the last line" he tells her.

_Tell me that you love me anyway _she sings, finishing the song. He nods his approval. She smiles at him and both look into each others eyes until they suddenly hear Andre yelling and see him running towards the table. Behind him, a big muscular guy is chasing him, yelling "stay away from my girlfriend."

Andre reaches the table and frantically tells them he has to go before jetting off towards the door.

Tori and Beck look on as the girl's boyfriend chases him out.

"Smooth" says Tori and they both burst out laughing.


End file.
